Indonesia looks to China to absorb rising durian production

Following a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Wang Lutong here on Monday, he said the move could help address marketing challenges arising from increased productivity in transmigration areas.

“The main issue in transmigration is that when we increase productivity, the question is who will absorb the output. Therefore, the Chinese government is positioning itself as an offtaker, one of which is as a consumer of durian,” he said.

He explained that the cooperation will begin with exports of frozen durian before expanding to fresh durian exports, which are more preferred in the Chinese market.

“Going forward, we will seek to export fresh durian, as that is what the Chinese people expect. They want fresh durians,” he added.

According to him, Indonesia has significant potential for durian production, including in transmigration areas such as Parigi Moutong in Central Sulawesi, which is considered one of the largest durian-producing regions in Indonesia and even globally.

Moreover, he explained that, in addition to durian, coconut is also a focus of the cooperation, given the large demand in China for both commodities.

“In addition, we also discussed coconut consumers. If annual demand for durian is around Rp120 trillion, for coconuts it is around Rp110 trillion per year. China needs 4 billion coconuts annually, while it can only meet about 1 billion. So there is still a gap of around 3 billion coconuts,” he explained.

Indonesia has the potential to fill the supply gap, especially through land and labor support in transmigration areas, Suryanagara added.

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Translator: Ahmad, Kenzu